Nutrition Advice for Endurance and Physical Fitness Testing
You may be preparing for an endurance or physical fitness test for a variety of reasons and on this page we will have a look at the nutritional aspect of it and so here are some important tips for when you’re preparing for your endurance test.. First of all you want to drink plenty of water and you obviously want to start the test normally hydrated so as not to suffer from the bad effects of dehydration but also to eliminate the toxins from your body. You need to have at least 2 liters per day four day before the race and keep carbs as glycogen and before that you need to have a minimum of 1.5 liters per day plus half a liter for every hour of your training. You need to have an adequate amount of good fats to keep you healthy every day and healthy fats are an important part of your cell membranes and help prevent inflammation. Choose the heat resistant olive oil for cooking over other liquid oils and have fatty fish like salmon, tuna, mackerel, sardines, anchovies and have a few almonds and walnuts per day.
Eat a diet that is rich in fruits and vegetables to give your body the vitamins and minerals it needs and to keep the acid base balanced so as to deal with muscle stress. You want to have a serving of some sort of veggies in every meal, as well as whole grains like rice and quinoa, legumes- different beans, chick peas, red and green lentils, split peas, herbs and spices. These are low glycemic index foods that will improve your performance, keep your weight in control and help with your concentration during the test. Magnesium is an essential mineral for energy production as it is involved in hudreds of enzyme reactions in your body for converting the food you eat to your cells as ATP. Magnesium rich foods include pure cocoa, brazil nuts, almonds, cashews, dark chocolate, whole grains and sea food. You need more than 400mg of magnesium per day and when you’re magnesium deficient you will experience overall fatigue, irritability, cramps and sleep disturbances.
The evening before the race, just eat your usual amount and try not to have too much pasta or drinks that are rich in maltodextrins two to three days prior to test so that you can optimize the glycogen reserves in your muscles and you do not suffer from any intestinal issues because of having too many carbs as your body enzymes can handle only a certain amount of carbohydrates and anything beyond that will result in discomfort and bloating and your sleep may be badly affected- this is not just for pasta but also bread and anything with gluten. You may have a normal amount of protein with some veggies and plain yoghurt and with something like fruit salad as dessert. Before the race you want to keep your glycogen reserves and have your digestive comfort so you want to have your proper digestible meal minimum three hours before the event so you are neither feeling digestive heavy or hungry and there is no need to eat too much. You have muesli, almond puree or butter with a bit of jam, yogurt or an egg and a banana and have some water, tea or herbal tea as coffee, regular milk and fruit juice may cause digestive problem and try and avoid energy gels as they are too high in carbs and you may experience hypoglycemia as well as digestive disorders during the race.